7 DAYS LHASA TSEDANG SHIGATSE GYANTSE FAMILY TOUR

Welcome to Lhasa! Upon your arrival at Gonggar airport or Lhasa Railway Station, your professional Tibetan guide will meet you at designated location on time, with Pickup Board. Then a comfortable private car and experienced driver will take you to Lhasa hotel safely. It is about 65km from the airport to Lhasa city and takes less than an hour through the Airport Expressway. It is only 25km from the railway station and takes about half an hour. After arriving at hotel, tour guide will help you check in. You can take a rest and get acclimatized to high altitude. Overnight at Lhasa.

After breakfast at your hotel, driven to visit Drepung Monastery. Drepung Monastery was ever the largest monastery with more than 10 thousand monks, and now is one of three great monasteries in Lhasa. Seen from the distant, its grand, white construction gives the appearance of a heap of rice. In the afternoon, driven to visit Sera Monastery, which is famous for the unique “Daily Scriptures Debating” activity held from 3:30pm to 5pm in the central courtyard. Then transfer back to the hotel.

After breakfast, your tour guide & driver will pick you and drive to visit the splendid Potala Palace, which is Lhasa’s cardinal landmarks. You will have a whole morning to explore this world-level architectural works: White Palace, Red Palace, corridors and stairs and countless lama’s dormitory. Others include: Buddha statues, red-robed lamas and devoted, murals, etc. In the afternoon, you will walk to visit the age-old Jokhang Temple, as the spiritual center of Tibet, which will deeply impress you with its magnificence and sincere pilgrims. You will see pilgrims donating butter oil to keep the lights burning for the Buddha; learning Tibetan Buddhism; hearing the red-robed Lamas praying; taking photos of the gold roof and enjoying the beautiful sunshine of Lhasa. Finally, you will have a relaxing walk around Jokhang Temple at Barkhor Street, which is the oldest street in Lhasa, and full of religious atmosphere, showcasing Tibetan culture, economy, religion and arts assemble. Then transfer back to the hotel.

After breakfast, we will drive southeast towards to Tsedang, the capital of Shannan Prefecture. You will first arrive at in Yumbulhakhang, the first imperial palace on the rocky hill for a first Tibetan king. You may enjoy the relics that display the history and culture of Tibetan Buddhism while listening to the chanting of monks. The panorama of Yarlung Valley from the top of Yumbulhakhang will take your breath away. Then, we head back to Trandruk Monastery, built by Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. It has a history of 1,300 years. Enjoy the vivid murals and precious Thangka made of pearls that echo the heyday during the reign of Songtsen Gampo. Overnight at Tsedang.

Today, you will feast your eyes and spirits on Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet built in the 8th century. Ascend to the top of the 3-story monastery to have a clear view of this unique monastery whose layout was designed in the form of a giant mandala, a representation of the Buddhist universe. The main temple in the center represents Mt. Meru, the mythical mountain at the center of the Buddhist universe. The four continents in the ocean around Mt. Meru are represented by the four temples at the cardinal points, each flanked by two smaller temples to symbolize islands in the ocean. You will be struck by the distinctive spiritual ambience permeating through such a holy Buddhist site. With time permitting, you may kora up to the top of Hepori hill to enjoy the stunning panorama of Samye Monastery. Then transfer back to Shigatse on the G318 National Road.

In the morning, you will visit the seat of Panchen Lama - Tashilunpo Monastery, one of the most important monasteries in Tibet. It is the seat of the Panchen Lama before heading off along the Friendship Highway towards Lhasa. Built in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama, the monastery is now the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama Tibet’s second highest religious incarnation. There you will be able to see the tombs of 7 Panchen Lamas explore the twisting cobbled streets and get a peek into monastic life. On leaving from Shigatse, we will firstly drive to Pelkor Chode Monastery to explore both the monastery and the outstanding 32-meter stupa that is the highlight of the day. Known as the Kumbum Stupa, this one-of-a-kind stupa has nine floors and 108 chapels which contain thousands of images and statues throughout. After lunch, we will pass Karola Glacier (5159m) where we can view the beautiful glacier that falls from the slopes of Mount Nyenchen Khangsar. Then continue towards the beauty of Lake Yamdrok taking the winding road up to the crest of the Gampa La pass at 4794 meters. From the pass you get the first glimpse of the beauty of Lake Yamdrok below ringed by snowy mountain peaks and stretching out across the whole landscape before you. In the distance, the holy Mount Nyenchen Khangsar stands tall in the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountain Range. We will drop down to the lake shore for a closer look. Finally the guide will transfer you to your hotel in Lhasa. Overnight at Shigatse.

Today is free for you until you are escorted to the airport or railway station for departure and the guide will help you get on board.